Quick Jump to Events
- The Imperative for Race-Conscious Housing Policies
- Make a Big Impact with “Little p” Housing Policies
- Holding Cities Accountable for Affordable Housing
- The Future of SB 9: Building Small Scale Housing in California
- An Equitable Path for Black Developers
- Opportunities to Purchase (TOPA/COPA) Playbook
- Transformative Community-Government Partnerships in Housing Policy
- Creating Equitable Housing Solutions through Community Involvement
- Accelerating Transformative & Equitable Housing Solutions
THE IMPERATIVE FOR RACE-CONSCIOUS POLICIES TO ADDRESS THE HOUSING CRISIS
January 22, 2024
In today’s rapidly evolving and increasingly unaffordable housing market, finding a stable and safe place to call home has become a monumental challenge for many. For communities of color, these challenges are exacerbated by a long history of systemic racism, discriminatory policies, and unequal access to resources. Learn how a race-conscious approach to policymaking can potentially solve the current housing crisis, by addressing the root causes of racial disparities in housing access, affordability, and quality. The discussion also focused on tangible solutions and strategies to advocate for meaningful and equitable change.
- Mathew Reed, SV@Home
- Wilhelmenia Wilson, Healthy Black Families
- Mayor James Coleman, South San Francisco
- Moderator: Geeta Rao, Enterprise Community Partners
MAKE A BIG IMPACT WITH “LITTLE p” HOUSING POLICIES
November 30, 2023
Explore innovative approaches to mitigating the housing crisis by leveraging “little p” policies. While traditional governmental policy — often referred to as “Big P” policy — can face noteworthy hurdles, including the need for city council approval or complex bureaucratic procedures, “little p” policies represent a more nimble and often localized strategy. These policies encompass administrative adjustments and policy implementations in city government, and often make change on a smaller scale and with greater flexibility than their “Big P” counterparts. Learn how “little p” policies are being innovatively applied to address urgent housing challenges when our panel shares valuable insights, experiences from the field, and actionable advice for those interested in adopting “little p” policy solutions to create equitable change in their communities.
- Wayne Chen, Housing Director, City of Mountain View
- Eric Shaw, Director, San Francisco Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development
- Joseph Villarreal, Executive Director, Housing Authority of Contra Costa
- Moderator: Melissa Jones, Executive Director, Bay Area Regional Health Inequities Initiative
CREATING EQUITABLE HOUSING SOLUTIONS THROUGH COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
October 18, 2023
Explore the critical role that community involvement plays in the creation and implementation of policies for equitable housing solutions. Too often, decisions about housing are made without sufficient input from the communities they will impact, exacerbating existing inequalities and failing to meet the needs of the intended beneficiaries. Collaborating with the community will provide insights from lived experience, develop trust between the community and government, and is a step towards redressing historical and ongoing inequities in housing. The panel will examine the best practices for engaging the community and identify obstacles communities and policy makers face.
- Kiana Simmons, Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo
- Leo Esclamado, My Eden Voice
- Jocelyn Vera, Hope Solutions
- Moderator: Aysha Pamukcu, San Francisco Foundation
TRANSFORMATIVE COMMUNITY-GOVERNMENT PARTNERSHIPS IN HOUSING POLICY
June 6, 2023
Embark on a transformative journey into local housing policy change that explores an innovative model that facilitates community and government collaboration and develops trusting, effective partnerships for creating and implementing equitable housing policies. Community leaders have a seat at the table and can better understand the inner workings of government, ensuring those usually excluded from government and policymaking are at the center of efforts for change. It also establishes greater community engagement and helps local government leaders integrate racial and economic equity into housing policy.
- Benjamin Toney, Partnership for the Bay’s Future
- Chris Norman, Oakland Department of Housing and Community Development
- Ellen Wu, Urban Habitat
- Moderator: Aysha Pamukcu, San Francisco Foundation
PRESERVING HOUSING & CENTERING TENANTS WITH OPPORTUNITIES TO PURCHASE
A Playbook for TOPA/COPA Policies
May 18, 2023
One critical solution to strengthen our communities and protect tenants from losing their homes is the Tenant or Community Opportunity to Purchase Act (TOPA/COPA), which is being proposed by cities and counties across California. Explore how to combat opposition and misinformation, how government and philanthropy can creatively support TOPA/COPA implementation, and how the lessons learned can assist other jurisdictions looking to adopt a similar act.
- Maria Guerrero, SOMOS Mayfair
- Martha Escudero, TOPA4LA
- Peter Ortiz, San Jose Councilmember
- Moderator: Lydia Lopez, California Community Land Trust Network
AN EQUITABLE PATH FOR BLACK DEVELOPERS
April 18, 2023
Black Developers have historically been kept out of the real estate development ecosystem through exclusionary employment practices in the real estate sector, and discriminatory patterns in the banking sector that place barriers to capital access and economic mobility for people of color. Leaders from the Black Developers Forum will discuss efforts to address redevelopment, acquisition, and rehabilitation challenges and to support Black leaders who are serving the housing needs of Black communities.
- Nikki Beasley, Richmond Neighborhood Housing Services
- Kenneth Jones, Local Alliance for Neighborhood Development and Integrated Services
- Donald Gilmore, Community Housing Development Corporation
- Moderator: Melissa Jones, BARHII
THE FUTURE OF SB 9: BUILDING SMALL SCALE HOUSING IN CALIFORNIA
April 5, 2023
In an effort to respond to California’s growing housing crisis, legislators in Sacramento passed Senate Bill 9, a bill aimed at streamlining permitting and increasing housing density across the state. The impact of Senate Bill 9 could be enormous in expanding the supply of “missing middle” housing – a residential building or lot that contains multiple housing units. Until SB 9, small-scale housing had largely been illegal due to local zoning restrictions. Building off the success of recent ADU laws, we’ll discuss how SB 9 can be improved and implemented so that small-scale housing can be more easily constructed.
- Muhammad Alameldin, Terner Center for Housing Innovation
- James Pappas, San Francisco Planning Department
- Alejandro Martinez, Coalition for Responsible Community Development
- Moderator: Anu Natarajan, Housing Initiative Lead, Meta
HOLDING CITIES ACCOUNTABLE FOR AFFORDABLE HOUSING NEEDS
Housing Elements Compliance
March 7, 2023
As we move into a new cycle of housing production goals set by the state – known as the Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) – we need to make sure that local governments are quickly approving housing to meet their communities’ needs. With all the housing laws passed in California over the past few years, and technical assistance offered through the California Housing California Department of Housing and Community Development as well as the Association of Bay Area Governments, we have more tools than ever to support cities to develop and implement their housing plans and meet their RHNA goals.
- David Zisser, California Department of Housing and Community Development
- Daniel Saver, Metropolitan Transportation Commission/Association of Bay Area Government
- Kristy Wang, Community Planning Collaborative
- Moderator: Khanh Russo, San Francisco Foundation
ACCELERATING TRANSFORMATIVE & EQUITABLE HOUSING SOLUTIONS
March 3, 2022
Join us for a robust discussion on the interconnected challenges of the Bay Area’s affordable housing crisis and the strategies and tactics that are advancing equitable pro-housing agendas across the region. The event focused on lessons learned and how to build momentum from the last three years on the creation and implementation of tenant protection and housing policies by local jurisdictions as well as the investments to preserve and produce affordable housing across the region.
- Lourdes Castro Ramirez, Secretary of California Business, Consumer Services & Housing Agency
- Khanh Russo, VP of Policy and Innovation, San Francisco Foundation
- Cindy Wu, Executive Director, Local Initiatives Support Corporation
